primordialerebus

Coraline hails from a world much like ours, except there are superheroes and villains constantly fighting for control. Also magic, supernatural creatures, meta genes, and fantastical technology. Her story (like most people’s) starts at birth, where due to either fate or chance, she was stolen from the hospital to be used in a ritual meant to bring upon the end of the world as most knew it. Except she was saved, the police crashed in, interrupting it and foiling their plans of summoning the Primordial Void through the baby sleeping in the middle of a spell circle. The cultists were all captured and the kidnapped child was unharmed.

So after the usual media circus that happens after such an event, life went on. Her single mother moved from New York to escape the attention and traumatizing memories, ending up across the country in Los Angeles. There, she had a normal childhood. Kind of. She was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder early on, with a marked sensitivity to lights and lack of sensitivity for nearly everything else. Including pain. In short, she was a very clumsy child who had trouble communicating. But hey, occupational therapy and dance classes made sure she stopped tripping over everything at least. Other than that? Perfectly normal. She attended school, switched from dance to martial arts, temporarily got an abusive almost-stepfather, and made one friend. All the usual things.

Then, she turned 14. Turns out, the ritual did do something to her: It gave her powers. And inspired by a near death experience where she was saved by one plus a desire for praise, she decided she would become a superhero with them. She joined a local organization where her skills were further honed. Physically at least. Her powers inspired mistrust among most heroes, with similar powers being used exclusively by villains in the past. Still, she worked hard until she finally got a chance to prove herself at 17, saving a bunch of people from falling debris on live television! Unfortunately, that gained the attention of the very same cult that had taken her on the day she was born. They stole her away once more, injuring her mother in the process. Next thing she knew, she was being monologue’d at about her purpose in bringing the end of the world and all that. Pretty similar to the first kidnapping all things considered. Except this time, she died. Sacrificed in an attempt to free the thing that had been put inside her.

They succeeded, the dark void within her bursting free and consuming her. The cult stood triumphant, and her best friend got to watch her die. Except, nobody accounted for the possibility that maybe, the thing had merged with the human it had been put inside (or perhaps, there was never truly a person at all). So, she awakens as something distinctly inhuman and with the knowledge that she is something terrible, confirming everything she’s ever feared about herself.

They proceeded to disguise her appearance and lied to the police about what happened, saying she escaped on her own and has no idea where the culprits are (dead). She then finds out her mom died which is. A lot. She ends up getting taken in by her best friend’s family and after a grieving period, goes back to school. She does her best to pretend nothing happened, but she starts withdrawing, quitting anything not required including her superheroics. Any moment not spent studying was spent developing her suddenly wild powers, gaining as much control as possible so she wouldn’t accidently hurt anyone. Otherwise, she was placed under a seal that left her sluggish and slow. But hey, she wouldn’t be hurting anyone. As long as she didn’t draw attention, it’d be fine. Only Normal from now on. Ignore that she died and doesn’t even have the same senses anymore. Only Normal.

She ended up enrolling in college with an undeclared major. Unknowingly, she was returning to her place of birth: New York City. Despite her fear, her stubbornness won out (besides, the cult’s definitely gone this time. Right?). So she’s in NYC now. Trying to be a Normal freshman. Except now? She has better control over her abilities and stuff keeps happening. Stuff that she could theoretically prevent, or at least help with. And isn’t she basically letting it happen if she does nothing? So, she ended up starting again. This time, as an unmarked vigilante focused on the stuff more attention seeking superheroes wouldn’t care about. There was definitely a learning curve, and she somehow found herself recruited to work part-time at a boutique that totally wasn’t a front for a Hero Costume Crafter, but… things were becoming okay again (ignoring some big hiccups).

She then graduated with a bachelor in social work. Ready to take on the world… or at least her gap year. Because she knows she needs to make a choice soon. Not just with grad school, but about her other life so to speak. Because she’s powerful, no matter how much she’d prefer not to be. And that can’t be hidden for long. Time’s running out. Life choices aside, she is now working full time at said Normal boutique that somehow pays a living wage in NYC and continues to wrestle with her sense of self.

She just hopes that her friends are right about the whole destiny thing.

Extended Background Here

At first glance, Coraline comes off as a rather shy and timid person. That isn’t necessarily a false impression. Early experiences with bullying made it hard for her to personally reach out to others. She preferred to gain attention by making herself useful or praiseworthy (aka she was a major teacher’s pet), though that later backfired so she now does her very best to just seem mediocre and unforgettable (her success at this is up in the air). Basically, she has a lot of anxiety when it comes to social situations (and just situations in general), and when she doesn’t feel comfortable, she tends to be rather quiet and can be a bit of a doormat. Not to say she isn’t capable of interacting with others. She’s had years of practice, learning to compartmentalize parts of herself and using “scripts” to guide interactions as necessary.

She also possesses a deep vein of self-loathing and a pretty big guilt complex started by her almost-stepfather’s emotional abuse and the previously mentioned bullying. The former made it clear how much of a burden she was on her mother, the latter made it clear that something was intrinsically wrong with her (not that she hasn’t heard similar from doctors and even her own mother). That only got reinforced when her powers manifested, as she was immediately treated with suspicion, the constant underlying message being that her abilities are intrinsically evil. Then, when she tried to prove the world wrong, she got her mom killed. One can’t forget the whole being told you’re supposed to destroy the world thing either. The way she sees it, the least she can do in exchange for existing is use her powers to help others, and if it turns out she can’t exist? She’s perfectly willing to die.

With all that, one would think she is the type of person to isolate herself, refusing all attempts for friendship. That is the furthest from the truth, because her biggest fear in the end is loneliness. For her, it represents all her fears of herself coming true. As one can imagine, this conflicts frequently with the whole “don’t get attention” thing, since making friends requires putting oneself out there. There’s also the fact that the two sides of her life can’t mix, meaning she’s rarely able to truly trust anyone if only for their own protection. So when she does manage to make a true connection, she’s willing to do and put up with a lot to keep it.

Still, she has her limits (though they’re much greyer than many would expect) and once her lines are crossed, she will put her foot down. This is when her stubbornness really comes through, as she will refuse to compromise or shift, even if it’d be beneficial to do so. Indeed, once her opinion is formed on anyone or thing, it can be extremely hard to change it. This, combined with the things mentioned above can lead to startling moments of impulsivity. If someone else is in trouble or a friend is being attacked, she will leap in without a thought.

Outside of all her hang-ups, Coraline is a person with massive amounts of enthusiasm and determination. She is also extremely curious with a love of exploring ideas and boundaries, making her a rather creative thinker. Once she sets her mind on learning or doing something, she will pursue it with her all, pushing herself and it to the limits. Indeed, this is the other source of impulsivity: coming across something that interests her can easily override her usual barriers, for good or for ill. It should also be noted she is quintessential Gen Z, molded by the internet and social media. Basically? Expect a lot of memes.

In the end, she is someone who can be defined by her compassion and idealism. She finds great joy in helping and making others happy. This is especially true for those she loves, as she is willing to go to the ends of the earth for them whether they deserve it or not. She just loves people as a whole and despite flashes of pessimism due to her anxiety, she is an optimist at heart. Coraline truly believes in the overall good and endless potential of humanity (+ other sentient beings) with a rarely dampened ferocity, and she will do anything she can do protect that.

• Darkness Manipulation: She can mold and change the properties of the darkness around her rather effortlessly. This allows novel ways of attacking, defending, and transportation through the use of her constructs. Touching the constructs gives others a shock of extreme cold that soon fades to just feeling wrong.
  
  Said constructs are susceptible to light, as it causes them to dissolve away. Higher intensities of light require more concentration for her to maintain her constructs. She also can’t create darkness from nothing, requiring a source of some sort, but can “expand” an existing source.
   
• Inhuman Physiology: Her body is largely made up of darkness/shadow stuff (the exact nature of this existence is debatable. Is she puppeting flesh? Is it shadows given form via magic? I have no idea.) Due to this, everything about her has a grey, blackish tint to it, belying her now inhuman nature. She can take much more damage than before due to a deadened sense of pain, the ability to seal her wounds with darkness, and just a lack of bodily functions. This means she does not need to eat or drink and is immune to biological poison/diseases. She can also use the shadows within her body to augment her speed and strength.
  
  With all of this, damage tends to build up quickly as the wounds aren’t actually healed, the shadows simply acting as a very effective band aid. And since her existence in reality is tied to her form, if it becomes too damaged, she’ll theoretically be permanently destroyed. Hence, it’s in her best interest to reduce damage taken. Also, she can no longer sleep and is sensitive to the light, requiring her to keep herself covered up to avoid discomfort/pain. At night, she can usually uncover herself with little irritation provided the lights aren’t too bright. She also lacks a pulse, doesn’t breathe unless required for talking, and basically has no life signs.
   
• Regeneration: Coraline is capable of using darkness to heal herself, essentially using shadows to stitch herself back together, resetting her body to its “original” form. The speed of the process depends on the density of the ambient darkness. Greater damage also requires higher darkness density. It also strains at the magic binding her to reality, so healing greater amounts of damage is very uncomfortable and may leave her weak and incapacitated for some time after. Clothing is also not affected.
   
• Darkness Sense: Coraline is able to sense anything happening in the shadows/darkness around her, with precision depending on shadow density and concentration. At its most basic, she can “see” shapes and feel general energy emissions. Her usual distance is at around 50 ft. (she may be able to push it out a little further or reign it in but both takes concentration), though in continuous shadow/darkness, it can extend as far as that covers. Her senses are able to detect through solids. However, to prevent invasions of privacy and also to stop herself from being overwhelmed, most of this is usually sealed off via magic (further info in items section).
  
  On the other hand, her traditional senses are now dulled or even completely lacking, the latter referring to her vision. She is unable to traditionally see things, fully relying on her new senses on that end. This means she’s basically colorblind and her “vision” acuity depends largely on ambient light levels (though she has found some work arounds when it comes to say walking down the street).
   
• Teleportation: She can access the darkness between worlds and use it to get places. Requires full use of her senses in order not to get lost and since that’s usually sealed, this is sealed as well.
   
• Dark Form: She is no longer bound to human form, able to turn into a living shadow that can become incorporeal at will. This greatly increases her “physical” capabilities, including her regeneration. On a lesser level, she is able to “meld” into existing shadows as a form of camouflage.
  
  The tradeoff is that light becomes extremely dangerous in this form, causing extreme pain/discomfort. Enough exposure will kill her. She is also rather unwilling to use this ability and usually keeps it sealed off. The camouflage ability is easily disturbed by increased light.
   
• General Skills: Coraline has been trained in martial arts (mostly wing chun and aikido based), making her a proficient hand to hand combatant. She is also capable in using the staff and glaive. She is skilled in parkour and has also learned basic first aid.

More ramblings here.

Choker: Posses an illusion charm that allows her to appear human/alive, as well as 3 levels of sealing spells.

• 1st : Prevents unconscious/super reactive activation of her abilities.
• 2nd : Prevents her senses from going through solid objects and keeps them at normal range. Also locks her Dark Form, though she is able transform up to around a limb with heavy concentration.
• 3rd : Limits the acuity of her senses, preventing her from seeing down to a molecular level and locks her teleportation ability.